The 74th annual awards will honor Broadway musicals and plays that opened during the 2019/2020 season. Theaters were forced to close their doors in March 2020, but have slowly started to welcome sold-out audiences once again. On Sunday, September 26, hosts Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. will ring in Broadway’s biggest night with a special two-part celebration.

“I want to be a part of whatever we can do to get the word out that Broadway is back,” McDonald, 51, noted in an interview days before the awards were set to take place at New York City’s Winter Garden Theatre.

The 40-year-old Hamilton star agreed, adding, “I hope that we can remind people of the power of live performance, which is a challenging thing to do on a television, but it’s what we’re tasked to do, and it’s our best hope in this moment.”

The Good Fight actress — who’s a six-time Tony winner — will kick off the night and present the majority of the awards during a ceremony streamed exclusively on Paramount+. When her two hours are done, Odom Jr. will take over on CBS as emcee for a concert special titled The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!

“We have music and dance and great writers and a slew of talent, and we want first and foremost to entertain folks,” the One Night in Miami actor explained. “But beyond that, the show needs to come out of the truth of where we are. We need to honor this moment that we’re in, and deal with it honestly.”

Rounding out the star-studded guest list are Broadway greats — including Stephanie J. Block, Tituss Burgess, Idina Menzel and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber — and crossover successes Beanie Feldstein, Darren Criss and Andrew Garfield. The cast of Ain’t Too Proud is set to take the stage with John Legend, while the original stars of Hairspray reunite for a song. Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s Freestyle Love Supreme will deliver the closing number.

Not all of the trophies will be given out during McDonald’s portion of the festivities. The top three categories — Best Musical, Best Play and Best Revival of a Play — will be announced at the concert. However, all eyes will be on Moulin Rouge‘s Aaron Tveit, the sole nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, who might not be a shoo-in for the win.

“It’s not something I thought or expected or had ever seen or heard before, but I was very happy that the Tonys committee decided to go ahead with the awards for this year,” the Gossip Girl alum, 37, told Broadway News of his nod in January. “I think that the Tony Awards are a celebration of this community, and I felt it provided a bit of a lift for the whole community when they were announced. … And then for me personally, I was just nothing but grateful.”

Even under “unique circumstances,” the nomination felt like a major milestone. “The Tonys are a mainstay,” Tveit added. “I’ve had my own personal up-and-down experiences with them with shows before, so to me it just meant the absolute world.”

Scroll down to see the complete list of 2021 Tony nominees — and check back during Sunday’s show to see who won!

Best Musical
Jagged Little Pill
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Play
Grand Horizons
The Inheritance
Sea Wall/A Life
Slave Play
The Sound Inside

Best Revival of a Play
A Soldier’s Play
Betrayal
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

Best Book of a Musical
Diablo Cody, Jagged Little Pill
John Logan, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Original Score
Christopher Nightingale, A Christmas Carol
Paul Englishby, The Inheritance
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside
Jason Michael Webb and Fitz Patton, The Rose Tattoo

Best Direction of a Play
David Cromer, The Sound Inside
Stephen Daldry, The Inheritance
Kenny Leon, A Soldier’s Play
Jamie Lloyd, Betrayal
Robert O’Hara, Slave Play

Best Direction of a Musical
Phyllida Lloyd, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical
Diane Paulus, Jagged Little Pill
Alex Timbers, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Leading Actor in a Play
Ian Barford, Linda Vista
Andrew Burnap, The Inheritance
Jake Gyllenhaal, Sea Wall/A Life
Tom Hiddleston, Betrayal
Tom Sturridge, Sea Wall/A Life
Blair Underwood, A Soldier’s Play

Best Leading Actress in a Play
Joaquina Kalukango, Slave Play
Laura Linney, My Name Is Lucy Barton
Audra McDonald, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Mary-Louise Parker, The Sound Inside

Best Leading Actor in a Musical
Aaron Tveit, Moulin Rouge!

Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Karen Olivo, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Featured Actor in a Play
Ato Blankson-Wood, Slave Play
James Cusati-Moyer, Slave Play
David Alan Grier, A Soldier’s Play
John Benjamin Hickey, The Inheritance
Paul Hilton, The Inheritance

Best Featured Actress in a Play
Jane Alexander, Grand Horizons
Cora Vander Broek, Linda Vista
Chalia La Tour, Slave Play
Annie McNamara, Slave Play
Lois Smith, The Inheritance

Best Featured Actor in a Musical
Danny Burstein, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Derek Klena, Jagged Little Pill
Sean Allan Krill, Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Daniel J. Watts, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Kathryn Gallagher, Jagged Little Pill
Celia Rose Gooding, Jagged Little Pill
Robyn Hurder, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Myra Lucretia Taylor, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Soutra Gilmour, Betrayal
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Derek McLane, A Soldier’s Play
Clint Ramos, Slave Play

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Derek McLane, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Riccardo Hernandez and Lucy Mackinnon, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson and Jeff Sugg, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Costume Design of a Play
Dede Ayite, A Soldier’s Play
Dede Ayite, Slave Play
Bob Crowley, The Inheritance
Rob Howell, A Christmas Carol
Clint Ramos, The Rose Tattoo

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Emily Rebholz, Jagged Little Pill
Mark Thompson, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical
Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Jiyoun Chang, Slave Play
Jon Clark, The Inheritance
Heather Gilbert, The Sound Inside
Allen Lee Hughes, A Soldier’s Play
Hugh Vanstone, A Christmas Carol

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Bruno Poet, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Justin Townsend, Jagged Little Pill

Best Sound Design of a Play
Paul Arditti and Christopher Reid, The Inheritance
Simon Baker, A Christmas Carol
Lindsay Jones, Slave Play
Daniel Kluger, The Sound Inside
Daniel Kluger, Sea Wall/A Life

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, Jagged Little Pill
Peter Hylenski, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Nevin Steinberg, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Choreography
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jagged Little Pill
Sonya Tayeh, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Anthony Van Laast, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

Best Orchestrations
Justin Levine, Matt Stine, Katie Kresek and Charlie Rosen, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Tom Kitt, Jagged Little Pill
Ethan Popp, Tina — The Tina Turner Musical

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Meredith Nardino